Explosive compound



- stro'yed;

lNllE STATES ArENr Fries.

EUGENE nu ronr, or WILMINGTON,DELAWARE.

EXPLOSlVE COMPOUND;

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent 110.352.6111., dated November 16, 1886 Application filed June 16, 1886; Serial No. 205,362. {No sptciinensa To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE DU Pour, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vil- 'rnington, county of New Castle, and State of sive compounds, of wood slightly changed in its chemical formula by the application of heat for the two purposes of increasingthe ballistic force of the powderand of controlling the rate. of combustion so as to adaptit for nsein heavy charges behind projectiles of great weight, or

tolighter ehargesin ined'iumsizcd guns. With this end in; Viewv I replaee (cither wholly or partially, as. desired) the charcoal \v'hich'is used in the composition of ordinary gunpowwith the requisite amountof wood slightly der,

chemical formula by having been changedinit-s subjected to heat, scribed.

' I have found thatbranch-willow wood is well adapted to the purpose;,but any suitable wood for making gunpowder-charcoal may be used. I subject the wood to a gentle heat, (either in aretort over a slow fire or by the application of superheated'steam ina suitable vesseh) gradually raisin g the tem perature to about 450 Fahrenheit, at which the heat is maintained for about two hours, (this would be for threefourths of a cord of willow,) the entire time consumed in the baking being about eight hours, six hours being consumed in Obiglning the proper temperature. The limits of temperature at which the baking should ceasefas far as I am now aware) to secure good results are 300'Fahrenheit,-and 450 Fahrenheit, the,

lower temperature making the wood less rapidly combustible, and the higher secnring a more combustible wood. The proccssof heating the 'woodyas described, should cease before the wood is transformed into red charcoal, which is useless for my purpose, as red charcoal has entirely lost the fibrous character of the wood, while in the wood which I use in the present invention the fiber is stillundeand it is by breaking the wood and examining if the fiber has been destroyed that .I am able to determine the point at which the baking should cease. 450 Fahrenheit is a temdescript-ion of the same. My invention consists in the use, in explo-.

or baked,as hereinafter de-.

perature highenough to transform the wood into red charcoal, if maintained for asuiiicient. length of time; but I remove the wood before such transformation takes place.

My baked-"wood differs from red charcoal not only in its physical character by retaining charcoal is considered to contain about 72.64

gen, 20.08 per cent. of oxygen, and 0.57 per cent. of 'ash. Although not being a definite chemical compound, but being produced by partial decomposition, it will vary slightly in its formula. This also applies to my baked wood, which may vary even more than from 47.51. per cent. of carbon, 6.12 per cent. of hy drogen, 46.29 per cent. of oxygen, and 0.08 per a cent. of ash, to 51.82 per cent. of carbon, 3.99 per cent. of hydrogen, 43.94 per cent. of oxygen, and 0.22 percent. of ash; but, as will be seen, it has much less carbon than red charcoal, and still less than black charcoal. The carbon in my baked wood also retains to a certain extent, after being ground fine, itscellular fornnand combines with the liberated oxy gen from the saltpeter more readily than other forms of carbonfor instance, stone-coal or lamp-black.

The greater proportion of oxygen and byof very great importance to the ballistic effect of the powder. The theory of their action, as proved by experiment, is as follows: The temperature, after. ignition of the charge in the gun, reaches 4,000 Fahrenheit, a degree of heat too high to permit the oxygen and hydrogen to combine to form water,'and they therefore must remain uncombined until, by the expansion due to the motion of the projectile toward the mu zzlc, these gases are cooled sufliciently to permit' their union. \Vhen this takes place,a very large-amount of heat is disengaged, which expands again the steam and other gases formed by the combustion of the powder. The pressure thus sustained while the prejectile is in the gun insures a high velocity and a low pressure, because all the atoms of the powder cannot form new combinations at the time of ignition, but part of them unite. as the pressure falls. It is therefore important to get as much of the substances containing oxygen and hydrogen its fiber, but also in its chemical formula. Red I i per cent. of carbon, 4.71 per cent. of hydro drogen in my baked wood than in charcoal is in proportions, to form Water, or approximate proportions, into the powder as possible, and I therefore prefer the baked Wood, which contains these gases in such proportions, besides having its carbon, as stated, in a form to unite readily with oxygen. The fibrous character of my baked wood also gives toughness to the grains of powder and prevents the grains from breaking up too rapidly.

It nnneeessary to describe the method of combining the components of powder, for that is Well known, but l. have found the following ingredients and proportions to form it desirable powder for guns of twelve-inch caliber: seltpeter, seventy-eight iarts, by weight; sulphur, three parts; baked Wood, 12.5 parts; ordinary wood pulp, 2. use of which forms the subject -of my pliezition for Letters Patent filed August 1885, No. 174,214,) four'paris; valso found, the wood pulp may be omitted, as the grain will be toughened by tlie fiber of the sized Wood, the proportions in this case being ep- 12', or, as I have 5 parts; sugar, (the about as follows: saltpeter, 78,95 parts, by weight; sulphur, tl'iree ports; beliecl wood 15.02 parts; sugar, parts.

I do not limit myself to thespeeiel ingredi ents or proportions given abovc,as my invention consists in the combination of baked wood, as gunpowder ingredients, and other equivalent ingredients may be substituted for those above mentioned.

What I claim is An explosive compound consisting of a nitrate and sulphur combined with charcoal remining its fibrous structure, substantially as described.

In testimony whcreofl affix my signature, in presence oi'two witnesses, this 15th day of-Iune, 1886.

EUGENE :oo FONT. W i tnesses WILLIAM BERRIGAN, THOMAS HUNT.

herein iiescrioed, with well-known V 

